Update: Two killed aboard capsized boat were from Saginaw County including Morley Foundation president

View full sizeAP Photo | News-Review, G. Randall GossIn a July 2010 photo, the sailboat WingNuts participates in the 2010 Little Traverse Regatta, on Little Traverse Bay in Harbor Springs, Mich. Boats and a helicopter searched northern Lake Michigan on Monday for two people who went missing when their sailboat Wingnuts capsized during the annual Chicago-to-Mackinac race, the Coast Guard said. Eight people aboard Wingnuts went into the water, and six were recovered, according to the Coast Guard.

Six crew members were rescued after the boat capsized, officials report.

“On the behalf of the Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac, the Board of Directors and Flag Officers, we express our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the crew of ‘WingNuts,’” Commodore Joseph S. Haas said in a statement. “The crew of this boat exemplified the spirit of the Chicago Mac that is steeped in tradition of family, friends and passion for the water."

A media release indicated severe thunderstorm crossed Lake Michigan around midnight with windgusts reported at 52 knots and waves between four to six feet.

“The Coast Guard was notified at 12:40 am via VHF radio by crew members from one of the competing boats ‘Sociable’ that another of the competing boats, ‘WingNuts,’ had capsized in these severe conditions,” the media release states. “Five sailors were pulled from the water on arrival to the scene and one other sailor was later rescued. The six sailors were rescued by the crew of ‘Sociable.’”

Mark Morley, who is president at Saginaw Township’s Morley Foundation, owned WingNuts.